Dogs in video games

[Dagger Dias]

I thought this would make for an interesting topic, one of three different dog topics I came up with today. Dogs are referred to as “man’s best friend” and even in video games that can be said to be true. This thread is dedicated to canine video game characters who you either felt made an impact, or you just happened to really like/dislike.



INTERCEPTOR, Final Fantasy 6

My personal favorite. Interceptor was Shadow’s dog in Final Fantasy 6. He made Shadow more useful due to his random appearances. Interceptor would randomly show up in battle to either defend Shadow (resulting in him completely evading an attack) or running out to attack a monster for decent damage. There were also a few funny scenes involving how much Interceptor hates strangers.


I have plenty more I can discuss, but would like to hear from the rest of you first.

What are some dogs in video games that you either like/dislike and why do you like/dislike them? Also, tell us a bit about what they do in their game for those who might be unfamiliar.

 

[Cracka Jack]

When talking about the greatest appearances of dogs in video games, one must immediately recall a devious mastermind who manipulated those around him to get what he wanted. His motives? A mystery. His methods? Dubious at best. I am of course referring to:

Spoiler

[youtube]GUDcSeUvkOw[/youtube]

Okay, on a serious note, there is one truly memorable dog of gaming for me.

Amaterasu, of Okami. To say this game is a cult classic seems redundant now, but it should be appreciated and remembered for quite a long time. She was a strikingly well-designed and fun to use character. I'll admit, I haven't played this game in a while, so I don't have that much to say about her, but she's always stuck out to me as a notable character and a worthy representative of canine-kind in the gaming landscape.
​

 

[Karilas]

Nice topic, Dagger. I'd like to nominate this fella...

Dogmeat, from Fallout 3.​

This pup is exceedingly useful, and ever so friendly! You originally meet him in a junkyard, where he's fighting with bandits. Dog's a tough cookie and an excellent companion in the Capital Wasteland.

@Cracka Jack; Ammy's fucking awesome. You ever play Okamiden for the DS? Chibiterasu's also pretty damn cool.

 

[Lee]

Amaterasu's a wolf not a dog.

There's a few out there. I could go with this little bastard and his grin:

Though I won't.

I could talk about pooch but come on, just look at him:

Or even Peter Puppy....Who?

Earthworm Jim!

At the end of the day it comes down to but one dog:

He's a throwaway character in a game most people haven't even heard of but he rocks my socks. Flurry appears in the game Division Blade made by Dagger and he's used as the save point. He's there in the most random of places and fan theories suggest that he's the criminal mastermind behind everything.

If a throwaway character makes you smile asking you to save, you know he's got something!

 

[Dagger Dias]

He's a throwaway character in a game most people haven't even heard of but he rocks my socks. Flurry appears in the game Division Blade made by Dagger and he's used as the save point. He's there in the most random of places and fan theories suggest that he's the criminal mastermind behind everything.

If a throwaway character makes you smile asking you to save, you know he's got something!

I thought about mentioning Flurry in my post. She's actually a girl though. She is a part of a group of dogs that perform various option-menu-style tasks for you in the game.

For those who are not familiar with the game.... The girl with the green hair is Fay, one of the playable characters who I was playing as when the screenshot was taken. The guy with the hat is Id, a friend of the heroes who helps operate the teleporter (seen in the background). The red cloaked dude? Check the spoiler tag. I'll discuss the dogs below that.

Spoiler

That's Litchtee, the brother of Colorwyngz, who is one of the optional bosses towards the end of the game.

Brunello is the black dog. He exchanges an automatic level up for Dog Bones that can be found in boss lairs and various random locations, then restores your Health for you afterwards. Dixie is the yellow one, she can nickname people. It's basically a rename function but it only appears in the menu and battles, the heroes still use each other's real names in dialogue scenes. Barollo is the green one and he can temporarily set a new default battle theme. Important events automatically set it back to what it's supposed be in certain fights, though. Bear is the most important of the bunch, he is the red dog and can change who your active party members are. Bonita is the purple dog, she can change the menu colors from one of four different options. Then, finally, there is Flurry the blue save dog. Flurry is the only one that follows the party to other locations such as temples, towns, etc.

Here's Flurry in Dagger's hometown. I'm thinking of having Bear follow the party the way Flurry does too in future versions, since the party lineup needs to be easier to change for certain events requiring specific characters to be in the active party.


I'll share another that is not Division Blade related.

This is Boney from Mother 3, I find him to be one of the cooler video game dogs because he is one of the very few dogs that is fully playable in his respective game, complete with levels and stats of his own. He is one of the main characters alongside Lucas, who many of you might recognize from Smash Bros Brawl. Boney's special skill is Sniff which can tell you info on the monster that he is told to Sniff.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Without a doubt for me it goes to Shadow from all 4 Dead 2 Rights games. I know not many people are crazy about this game but I love it, and probably my favorite part about it is Shadow. Shadow belongs to Jack Slate, a K9 cop who uses Shadow's help in sticky situations. What I love about him aside from the fact that he's badass is that not only can you tell him to stay, go hide or go attack an enemy, but you can also play certain levels as him. I love shootin up bad guys as much as the next guy but biting half of your enemies neck off seems a little scarier to me but my point is if you want an awesome, badass videogame dog then Shadow is just the pup for you

Here's a little example of why I love this beast, if this isn't awesome I don't know what is!
[YOUTUBE]134SXJdBStI[/YOUTUBE]